The Parliament, the Defense and Security, and the Trust Group keep uninterrupted cooperation with the Security Services at all times, and this cooperation reaffirms that the Service is an accountable agency committed to closely cooperating with the legislature and all the institutions the oversight functions of which cover the activity of the Service, the Chair of the Defense and Security Committee, Irakli Beraia said at the joint sitting of the Committees dedicated to the hearing of the Activity Report of the State Security Service for 2022.

The Defense and Security, the Legal Issues, and the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committees heard the First Deputy Chief of the State Security Service of Georgia [SSSG], Aleksi Batiashvili.

The reporter accentuated the issues related to the occupied territories, state security and counter-intelligence, countering terrorism and corruption, development of the legal base, and international cooperation.

“Within the parliamentary oversight, our Service actively and effectively cooperates with the Parliament and the respective Committees. We keep uninterrupted sharing of information with the Defense and Security Committee and on a weekly basis provide special reports on various aspects of security. In 2022, we have submitted 45 files providing information related to the occupied territories, and terrorism in the country and a wider region, as well as a respective analysis. Within the reporting period, the officials of the Service participated in the sittings of the Committee and the Trust Group. Besides, we ensured due response to 80 questions issued by the Parliament, where 36 were within the Trust Group”, - he stated.

As for the activity report, the reporter underlined that the key challenge for national security is the occupation of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region by Russia.

“In 2022, the Russian military forces have been holding illegal exercises at the Russian occupational bases on the occupied territories of Georgia, as well as rotation of personnel and other illicit actions. The occupation forces have been exposing the ethnic Georgians residing on the occupied territories to ethnic discrimination and violation of their fundamental rights. Simultaneously with the war in Ukraine, the Russian policy has acquired a far more complex nature, revealed by the processes developing around the real estates in Abkhazia and the financial dependence of the occupied regions on Russia”, - he stated.

Speaking about the illegal actions of the occupation forces, the reporter stated that 44 persons in occupied Tskhinvali and 13 persons in occupied Abkhazia have been illegally detained in 2022.

“Let me as well provide you with an appalling fact: six more of our citizens have been illegally detained this morning by the occupation forces; we have launched the call-center hotline and engaged our international partners”, - he added.

The reporter touched upon the counter-intelligence activity and stressed that based on obtained information and evidence, the Counter-Intelligence Department started investigations on 17 criminal cases in 2022, and 3 persons have been criminally indicted for the attempt to illegally acquire/store and distribute the radioactive substances.

The reporter overviewed the hybrid war and the use of soft power, as well as the negative repercussions thereof; as he noted, the primary goal of the disinformation campaign is to affect the foreign policy and Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the country.

Batiashvili, speaking about the SSSG activity, concentrated on cyber security, and countering international terrorism and counter-terrorism.

After the report, the reporter answered the questions; pursuant to Article 35 of the Rules of Procedure, the sitting proceeded in camera.